Body restraint



E. B. BRQWN BODY RESTRAINT Aug. 29, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 2, 1950 IN VENTOR fm wean/M B. BROWN BODY RESTRAINT Aug. 29, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed May 2, 1950 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 29, 1950 UNITED S TATES PATENT 4 ,lj g' bc B P .R 'iieW-P. U taiB.ir tWh,Ntm-iia,ta Application may 2, 1950, 'seriai -it."i5t,5si2

-- grins invention relates to abody restraint 3 and more particula'r1y to an abdominal restraint adapted to confine a patient in bed without "unduly restrictinghis other movements.

w It is the--0bject-of-the present invention toprof vide -a bodyrestraintpnharness which is simple in constructionuand operation-and which iseffectitre-in retaining a patient in bed-securelywhile permitting-him tornove within the confines of the bed withutmost comfort. v =--'-It is a further object of the inventionto provide Ja rug'g'ed body harness which may be fabricated at lowcost. from few parts andwhich may be launile'redrepeatedly: without substantial wearso that itiis characterized. by a long period of use without deterioration. or failure. ltisanother objector-the invention .to provide a llodyh'arn'ess. which: is simple to apply tOap'a- .tient and which iscQmfortable for the patient; .iin fact, the inventionini-ts preferred form @asan abdonii-nal band servesto render the patientioblivious to the fact that -a restraint. upon his leaving the bed is actuallyin "effect, since thesame \presents no substantial restraint to his freedom cf-smovementwithin the bed. v. -:'It-'is-.a :further. object 'of the invention to provide' a body restraint which is conveniently-ad- --j'u'stable' to suit different .sizes, of persons'so that thesameis capableof universal application..-,;.

- While the body -harnessm'ay be-applied with ease .to; apatient, the undesired .orunintentional detachment thereof from the patient may be controlledbyi an attendant in dependence upon the physical and mental condition of the patien using the same. a malice i vent on nr qeed n th p in ipl providing a body restraint or harness which is adapted to prevent persons from falling out of bed or leaving the bed, such as persons su fiiering from psychoneurotic diseases or other illnesses which require their securement-i-n bed. This forced re- .i; ehtion is accomplished humanely in accordance w h the invention, since the" restraint is innocunus in appearance and when it is applied tothe patient, it permits a freedom of movement within the bed, while preventing the patient from leaving the bed. In outward appearance, the restraint acts as an abdominal girdle, which is not in uncommon use for both men and women as bodyshaping and weight-reducing expedients. The body harness in accordance with the invention is made substantially entirely of fabric, which blends into the bed-clothing with no visible straps or buckles which act as a disturbing factor in the mental well-being of many patients requiring confinementin. bed. 'Theia'bric girdle readjustable in 'itsfgirth in order to adapt it to a "cornfort'able encirclement cf the Tpatierit'fthei'i'ein, arid the specially arrangedisecuring straps. between thegirdle and. the restraining. Band which ts strapped to the bed pefmit'thef'patient to roll and mov e ionlthe bed withinllpredet'ermined without weakening the restraining action-"of the girdle. The lacing tapes which are used' in obtainin'g a. fgirdle l'of lvaryi'ng .diniensiohs are also used to ifixedlyiretainithe 'Jgirdle'ih the adjusted position of f its' girt'h, ."and the knots which may be distributed in'thelacingt'apes may be varied 't'o 'aidjustthe complexity of. theretention in orderfto make, it more or' less diflicult for the" patient to remove the body restraint, leaving such' operation solely for-the? attendant.

Other objects and purposes "will appeawfifom thedet'ailed description of'the invention followingherei'iiafter, taken in conjunctiont'vitNtl'ic accompanying drawing, wherein:

'Fig. 1- -is a perspective -vievv'rk'afthe b'cdyrestraint aflixed to a vbed "andapplied tea patie fit lying thereon'as shown in amenities; 4 Figfl2 is airont elevation of the body restraint i n its operative position;- g

T Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of Figflwith certain. portions removed'to 'sho'wTtl-ie 'mode t)! attachment of the' securiiig'straps to the"flexible restraining band; and v I I Fig. 4'isan' eniargedfront elevatioh'ofth fee straint in 'p'ositionfor. movement in ither dir'ection relative to the restraining'bah'd. v l. As shown' in Fig. 1, the bodyistraiint 'ls anchored to the bed by me ns ore; wide'jleir ible 'barido'f -fabric' Fwhich may 'bepf double 'ply then," cotton bi o ther teitilematerial, an prerei'ably bf-a white color resembling the sheets of the bed clothes, which overlies theto'p: the bed ancl' which' is connected at its bppbsit tohaliidviilerjbailds'i'and"3, one of which v are buckle *4 at the end" thereof and "the" other'i'of is' provided with eyelets" tof atillus tably e u gage the"bu'clile" and which serves" to" strap "the flexible restraining band I tightly in place on top of the sheeting and around the mattress or bedstead. A girdle 5, which may function as an abdominal girdle, of substantially the same width as the band I, is preferably arranged to encircle the abdomen of a patient P after the patient is disposed thereon, by bringing the free ends 6 and 1 of the girdle to the top of the patient and by lacing two sets of lacing tapes Ill and II through the series of lacing holes 8 and 9 adjacent the free edges 6 and 1, respectively, of the 3 girdle. The lacing tape I is effective to lace the girdle from one end thereof towards the middle, while the lacing tape II is effective to lace the girdle from the opposite end thereof towards the middle. One free end of the lacing tape II] is knotted to the juxtaposed end of the lacing tape II at and the same is done with the opposite ends of the lacing tapes which are knotted at 2I'. The free ends 20 and 2I of the lacing tapes may be knotted at one or more additional'points 2B and 2I' and are knotted together at the bottom of the girdle at 22 in order to vary the complexity of the securement of thelacing tapes in the event that the patient should seek to disengage himself from the restraint un :nally disposed of each other and each having a width approximately one-half that of the band -I and the girdle 5. Thereby the straps I2 and I 5 .always lie flat between the flexible band I and the girdle without the formation of ridges which .would cause discomfort to the patient. One end of the strap I2 is sewn to one end of the flexible band I at I 3 and extends freely in superposed relation over the band and under the girdle 5 and'in encircling relation therewith to point I4 near the-free edge I. of the girdle remote from the end I3, and the strap I2 is stitched to the girdle at 14. Likewise one end of the strap I5 is sewn to the opposite end of the flexible band I at I6 and extends freely therefrom over the band I and under the girdle 5 to the point I! adjacent to the free edge 6 of the girdle opposite endIB, whereat the same is stitched to the girdle at N. This form of securement of the securing straps I2 and I5rto the opposite ends of the flexible band I and the respective remote parts ofthe girdle 5, permits a rotary rolling movement of the girdle relative to the flexible band in either direction as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 4 without in any way loosening the tightness of the'restraint of the abdominal band I 5 about the patient. The lacing tapes 20 and 2| extending from the median of the lacing ends accommodate themselves between the straps I2 and I5 and present no element of discomfort to thepatient nor do they in any way restrict the action of the girdle as controlled by bands I2 and I 5 when the patient moves to and fro.

7 Since the entire body harness is formed of fabric sheeting and cotton lacing tapes, the same may be laundered easily without injury to the parts. The over-all appearance of the device is that of a therapeutic abdominal girdle rather than a body restraint which contributes to the cure of the patient upon which the same is necessary to be used. While I have described my invention as embodied in a specific form and as operating in a specific manner for purpose of illustration, it should be understood that I do not limit my invention thereto, since various modifications will 4 suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A body restraint comprising a wide flexible band adapted to be secured to a bed, a girdle of substantially the same width as said band adapt ed to encircle the body of a patient lying on bed, said girdle having lacing means to adjust the spacing between the free edges of said girdle which are spaced from said band, and a pair of straps securing said girdle to said band each of approximately half the width of said band and girdle and displaced longitudinally of each other, each strap having one end thereof secured to one end of said band and extending freely therefrom to the opposite end of said strap whereat it is secured to the girdle near the free edge thereof remote from said end of said band, whereby the girdle is capable of limited lateral rolling movement in either direction within the limits of the lengths of said securing straps;

2. A body restraint comprising a'wide flexible band adapted to be secured to a bed, an abdominal girdle of substantially the same width as said band adapted to encircle the abdomen of a patient lying on the bed, said girdle having lacing means to adjust the spacing between the free edges of said girdle which are spaced from said band, and a pair of straps securing said girdle to said band each of approximately half the width of said band and girdle and displaced longitudinally of each other, each strap having one end thereof secured to one end of said band within the limits of the bed and extending freely therefrom to the opposite end of said strap whereat it is secured .to the girdle near the free edge thereof remote from said end of said band, whereby the girdle is capable of limited lateral rolling movement in either direction withinthe limits of the lengths of said securing straps.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said lacing means comprises a pair of lacing tapes for adjustably spacing the free edges of said girdle operable from each end of the gap between said free edges towards the middle thereof whereat the juxtaposed free ends of the tapes are adapted to be knotted and thereafter circled around the body of the patient and tied together below the girdle and between said securing straps.

EVA B. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 794,457 Gaiter July 11, 1905 879,164 Hamilton Feb. 18, 1908 1,502,276 Siebert July 22, 1924 1,969,314 Millett Aug. 7, 1934 

